everywhere is war
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We live not in world peace, but in world chaos.
World peace. This is one thing we all agree does not currently exist - and even assume to be impossible. There is no world peace today because all the world is at war. And because our world is at war, there is suffering everywhere. For the hallmark of any war is suffering – all wars create suffering. And much of the world is suffering, whether physically, mentally, or spiritually. If there is consistent suffering, there is a war. And “peace” is often merely a temporary rest break between wars.
When I look at the world, I see many wars. Not just wars between different groups of people, like wars between countries, armies, and terrorists. There are also wars between companies and industries, political parties, and religious groups. Wars for land, resources, control, power, and profit.
There are also wars between people within the same group. Wars can be fought on physical battlefields or mental battlefields. Physical war is when people consistently fight, steal, and use each other. In some areas, people even systematically sell, abuse, rape, kill, and torture each other. Mental war is when people consistently disrespect, look down upon, put down, insult, ignore, neglect, and hate each other. Most people think physical wars are more destructive than mental wars, because the damage can be physically observed, quantified, and evidenced.
However, I believe all physical wars stem from mental wars; that before an action to harm, there must be a thought to harm. It is the thought to destroy that breeds the action to destroy. Mind comes before Action. So I believe any physical war is simply a manifestation of a deeper, underlying mental war.
But there are also other kinds of wars, and these are the wars that people fight inside themselves, and perhaps against themselves. People kill themselves. We hurt ourselves. We think bad thoughts of ourselves. We inflict fear, anger, worry, and other negative attitudes upon ourselves. We say, “That makes me angry,” or “That makes me afraid,” when actually the source of the anger or the fear is inside us, fighting for control over us. These are the wars inside ourselves. Talk with a man long enough, look into his heart, and you will discover a struggle, a war - along with the suffering that it has caused.
And there are even wars we fight against the places we live in. Today, we cut down our forests, pollute our air, water, and land, and kill the earth’s animals. This, too, is war - a state of war against the very planet that gives us life. It is almost as if we can’t help NOT having wars. It is as if all the wars that we engage in spill over into every aspect of our lives and our existence. We kill each other, we kill the earth, and in doing so we kill ourselves.
Remain at War… or Fight for Peace.
Is this what you see in the world? This is what I see, but I don’t accept this is the best that we can do. I cannot accept it, because if I do, then we will never overcome it. And we will always be at war, and I do not believe we need to be doomed to such a fate. I believe that peace and happiness are possible – in my self, my city, my country, and our world. I refuse to believe that world peace is “impossible”.
So I have decided to fight. I will not close my eyes and pretend there are no wars. I will not forget. I will not hide so that I don’t get hurt. I will not run away. And I will not surrender and give up. Because I love my home. Because I love my people and our future children. Because I love the earth which gives us all our homes and our life. And because I love myself, too. For all these things, I must stand up and fight. Because if I do not fight, who will?? For this is the responsibility of the entire human race, and I acknowledge I am part of the human race. If we do not stop these wars, we will live inside them for as long as we live. And we will pass these wars on to others, and to our children. And all of us and our future generations will continue to suffer.
To most people, any war seems insurmountable and overwhelming. Wars appear too big for one person to resolve. But things are not always as they appear. For it is my belief that all the outer wars in the world of men, are manifestations of inner wars that exist in the hearts of men. Just as physical wars are the fruits of mental wars, all outer wars have their ultimate source in inner wars. In our world today, everywhere is war – outside and inside the hearts of men. And all these wars are connected to each other. The world is at war because there is no peace in the hearts and minds of men.
And the way to fight against all wars, is to fight for peace. If wars create suffering, then the alleviation & prevention of suffering is the path to peace and happiness. And my personal weapon of choice is the accumulation of wisdom & truth, for I believe that only wisdom can deliver happiness, and only wisdom can both ease and prevent consistent suffering. Wisdom seeks to hurt no one, and help everyone. It seeks to resolve conflicts and problems, not create them. It desires to share itself, not keep to itself. It desires the growth of all, and not just the gain of one. I believe wisdom is the foundation of peace.
Peace within creates peace without.
I have dreamed before of money, fame, and comfort. This is what I have been taught to desire, and perhaps you have been taught so as well. These are the paths to personal comfort, glory, power, wealth, and security – which are also the outer reasons why wars are fought. The desire for these things comes from how we feel about ourselves, because we feel unrespected, powerless, poor, or insecure – which are the inner reasons why wars are fought. And often times, there have been people who I have hated, or felt anger, fear, or envy towards – and these, too, are the seeds of wars. Sometimes I acted, other times I did not. But whether or not I acted, those thoughts were still born by me. Even though on the outside there was no war, inside I was at war, and I believe, fighting many different wars. I was not at peace. And I know that no matter how hard I tried to stop the wars on the outside, I could not achieve peace unless I first tried to cultivate and grow peace on the inside. Even today, I am still not fully at peace, within peace - but I do have enough peace to know where peace lies.
But first you must believe that peace is possible. If you believe peace is impossible, then you will invest nothing towards it, and remain in a state of war. The first major obstacle to peace is unbelief. Many people do not believe peace is possible, and because of their unbelief, they do not move in the direction of peace, and so do not move into peace. Their unbelief perpetuates the reality of war, and the reality of peace is never created. And so there is neither peace in the world or in their hearts.
I believe you can make peace and create peace. Peace with yourself. Peace with hate. Peace with our anger, fear, and envy of others. Peace with our coming death. Peace with loss. Peace with suffering. Peace with uncertainty. Peace with change. Peace with our faults, shortcomings, and all the parts of ourselves we do not like – and all the parts we do. Peace with ourselves & each other. Peace with our past, present, and future. As we make peace, we move into peace. With peace comes respect and appreciation for all living things - including ourselves.
Each person is a world unto themselves, and it is not possible to create another’s peace for them. Each must make their own peace. And the more we achieve peace inside ourselves, the more we can create peace in the outer world and with others. Your personal peace is the path to world peace. For you are a part of the world, and if you do not have peace, then the world around you can not have peace. But as you have peace, so shall a part of the world have peace. And this is how all peace in the world is born.
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